2014 Draft: Foster Griffin

Background
Griffin, 18, attends the First Academy in Orlando, which has only had two players drafted (zero big leaguers) in its history. Not exactly a baseball hotbed. Griffin is a lock to be the highest drafted player in school history. He is committed to Ole Miss.

Scouting Report
Griffin is a classic big, projectable, high school left-hander. He is listed at 6-foot-5 and 190 lbs., and his fastball currently sits in the 88-90 mph range. Obviously whoever drafts him will be banking on a few extra miles an hour showing up as he fills out. Griffin also throws a big-breaking mid-70s curveball that has the look of a potential out pitch, but it’s inconsistent right now. He also throws a changeup, which is probably his best secondary pitch. Griffin’s delivery is pretty simply but it can fall out of whack from time to time, so his command comes and goes. Classic project pitcher.

Miscellany
In their latest rankings, Keith Law (subs. req’d) and Baseball America (no subs. req’d) ranked Griffin as the 35th and 44th best player in the draft, respectively. That will change in the coming weeks and so far he has only moved up the rankings, not down. The Yankees’ first pick is in the second round (55th overall), so Griffin would have to slip through the cracks a bit to be available to them. The Bombers sure do love their big, tall, projectable high school pitchers though. Griffin is right up their alley.